Mehmet Okur

Mehmet Okur (born May 26, 1979 in Yalova, Turkey)
is a professional basketball player who currently
plays Power forward (basketball)|power forward for
the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz.

Okur is a product of the youth program of Efes
Pilsen SK|Efes Pilsen, one of Turkey's top clubs.
He  helped the Turkish 22-and-under national team
win the 1997 world championship. From 1998 to
1999, Okur played for Tofas Bursa, winning the
Turkish National Cup and league championships.
Okur was selected 38th overall in the second round
of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He
played for the Pistons in two seasons from 2002 to
2004, helping Detroit win the NBA Finals|NBA
championship in June 2004. Because of salary cap
limitations, the Pistons were unable to pay a
top-level salary to Okur, but he was able to
parlay his success into a 6-year, United States
dollar|$50 million contract with the Jazz.

At 2.11 metre|m (6foot (unit of length)|'11inch|")
and 113 kilogram|kg (249 pound|lb), Okur is a
large power forward. He has inside presence, but
also a reliable jump shot extending to 3-point
range, and is a solid free throw shooter with a
.807 career average.